Crimson Music
by blue-hart
Summary: When Mu Alexius was summoned to Lady Scheherazade's throne room, he expected a lecture on watching over his Corps better. Instead, he found himself being sent on a mission to track down and recruit a Fanalis who was destroying slave caravans on the roads to Reim. He never expected to become a mentor to an aspiring musician. co-written by FireLark
1. Chapter 1

**AN: i would like to start by saying thank you to FireLark he is mt co-writer who has a few story's out, there rely good reads i recommend "Chokers" it is by far my fevered check it out as soon as you can.**

**i also would like to challenge all you writer's out there to make more fanalis story's rather existing characters or OC anything goes yaoi, yuri anything just make more fanalis story's ok and PM me wen your going to take my **challenge!****

****Disclaimer: Magi does not belong to me.****

"Lord Mu!" A messenger rushed into the room, out of breath and sweating from the run here. I looked up from the papers I was reading through, rather relieved that the man had come and allowed me to take a break for a second.

"What is it? Did you need something?" I asked, standing up and moving over to listen to his message.

"Lord Nerva said that Lady Scheherazade requires your presence in her throne room as soon as possible." The man said, with a tone of voice that told me he was reciting the words exactly as they had been said to him.

_'Ah… what had the corps done this time?_' I wanted to sigh, but held it back. It wouldn't do to do something so undignified in front of the messenger.

"Thank you for your work." I clapped a hand on his shoulder (gently, mind you, gently) and sent him on his way with a friendly smile, then went to the papers on my desk and piled them neatly.

After that, it was off to Lady Scheherazade's throne room. I was rather dreading the almost inevitable lecture about letting my Corps run free. It was generally the only time she summoned me; when one of my soldiers destroyed something. This could range from a hole in the wall to flat out devastation of an entire building somewhere.

I made my way through the streets of Reim, walking slowly and a little reluctantly, even though I knew it would be easier to just go straight to Lady Scheherazade and get it over with.

I really didn't want to face that "I'm disappointed in you, Mu" stare and the lecture that always came with it. To make things worse, Nerva was the one who told the messenger, meaning he would be there to make disparaging comments about my corps and the Fanalis in general.

Unfortunately, it was only a short distance to Lady Scheherazade's throne room, and I made it there within a few minutes even with my dilly-dallying and procrastination.

Upon my cautious opening of the double doors, I surveyed the room to see, as predicted, Nerva's smug sneer. Contrary to my expectations though, Lady Scheherazade didn't look at all disappointed. She looked worried instead, which was somehow worse.

"You summoned me, my lady?"

"Ah, yes," she motioned for me to enter. "Do come in."

I strode to stand before her, briefly saluting.

"Mu…you keep track of all your soldiers, correct?" I nodded. If I didn't (like that one time I had been laid up in bed ill) they would wreak untold amounts of havoc and cause thousands of coins worth of property damage. "Have any of them gone missing?"

She leaned forward, staring deeply into my eyes, her normally neutral gaze suddenly focusing on mine, gaining an unnerving intensity. It felt like she could read my very soul with those eyes, like she could tell if I lied. Luckily, I hadn't lied to her before and didn't plan on starting now.

"No, my lady," I stated seriously. "All of my fellow Fanalis are present and accounted for."

Once I said that, Lady Scheherazade relaxed a little, but looked a little mystified. The smug look on Nerva's face transformed into a frown.

"If it wasn't one of his dogs then who was it?" I wanted to _strangle_ him. But as usual, I kept the smile on my face and waited for Lady Scheherazade to fill me in as she saw fit.

"The 13th dungeon, Beleth has been captured," she told me solemnly. I could see why she was so concerned now. She had sent two perfectly suitable king candidates into that dungeon some time ago, along with a platoon of men. None of them had made it out. She hadn't tried again, preferring to raise other dungeons. However, that didn't explain why they were asking about my corps.

"There have been rumors in the same area as Beleth of a red-haired demon with burning crimson eyes and herculean strength attacking slave traders and caravans importing beasts to the Colloseum," she continued. Ah. That was the problem. "We're assuming the dungeon capturer was a Fanalis."

"I suppose that is reasonable," since red hair and eyes were basically a motif for the Fanalis, there was no room to argue _that_.

Nerva loudly cleared his throat several times and loudly unfurled a scroll, drawing my attention towards him.

"According to every single one the victims who were attacked by this man, before they even saw him they heard eerie music, but they dismissed it as someone playing their lyre in the woods." At this point, Nerva sneered, obviously thinking them foolish. "However, when they gave their testimony we found that they said they became wearier the longer they listened to the music. All of them displayed signs of magoi overuse, despite the fact that most of them didn't know how to use their magoi in any way. We think that Beleth's power allows the user to drain magoi."

My eyebrows shot up, arching almost to my hairline. That would be…_extremely_ dangerous used against a Fanalis; we only had the bare minimum of magoi to begin with. Taking that bare minimum away would almost certainly be fatal. I knew very well now why Lady Scheherazade appeared so worried.

Nerva frowned as he continued to read off the scroll.

"Rumors also say that every time, the 'demon' would stop and say, "Now you know the pain that you cause others." in front of his victims, before taking away their… cargo." I suppressed another glare; personal beliefs and ideals were not suitable to be argued about in this kind of situation, most especially not in front of Lady Scheherazade.

Nerva gave me _another_ condescending sneer, and I dug my nails into my palms, hoping the pain would help to keep my anger at bay.

Lady Scheherazade stood up, her staff rapping sharply against the marble floor to draw our attention.

"Mu, I will leave this to you." She stated commandingly. "You are to find the Fanalis and persuade him to join your Corps. If he has conquered Beleth then he is also my king candidate and should be fighting on behalf of Reim, not against us. If you cannot persuade him, then…"

"You will put him down," Nerva finished for her. My eyes widened, and I turned to Lady Scheherazade, hoping for a contradiction. She was frowning at Nerva, but she did not disagree with him.

Silently, I dropped my eyes to the floor and bowed.

"Your wish is my command."

Leaving the throne room, the dread was even worse than when I was coming in. My heart felt like it was made of lead, the order that meant I would possibly have to kill one of my own weighing heavily.

Arriving at base, I called for Rohroh and Myron. Like always, they were there by my side in a heartbeat.

"Brother? What did you need?"

"Yeah Captain, you seem worried. What's up?"

Quietly, I explained what Nerva and Lady Scheherazade had told me, and told them our orders.

"Alright! A new member for our pack!" cheered Rohroh. Always optimistic, that one.

"You dumbass! Didn't you listen to anything he just said? If he refuses, we have to kill him!" Myron screeched angrily.

"Well… If he refuses, then I'll just beat him up till he accepts." Rohroh shrugged, scratching at the back of his head.

"You uncultured moron! Things don't work like that! _People_ don't work like that!"

"Why not?"

I sighed again, their argument fading out as they went to rally the troops, but a reluctant smile twitched at my lips anyways. I was always happy to meet another one of my kinsmen. I just hoped that I wouldn't need to end his life.

-Chapter End-


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I would like to start by saying thank you to FireLark she is my co-writer who has a few stories out, they're really good reads, I recommend "Chokers" it is by far my favorite, check it out as soon as you can.**

**I also would like to challenge all you writers out there to make more Fanalis stories, existing characters or OCs anything goes yaoi, yuri anything! Just make more Fanalis stories okay and PM me if you're going to take my challenge!**

**Disclaimer: Magi does not belong to me.**

Four caravans, two of which were full of material goods.

In the other two, exactly twenty-five slaves.

The usual fifteen guards, with their boss in the middle.

And huh, twenty hired mercenaries.

_'Interesting…they really buffed up their security. Well, it isn't like that will help them…'_

I smirked slightly, observing them from the cliff directly above the road where they would need to pass to get to the city, absently caressing the strings of the ornate golden lyre in my hands.

There was a squeaking noise as the tiny head of a white mouse emerged from the deep green linen of my hooded vest as he crawled to perch delicately on my shoulder, sniffing at my neck.

Almost involuntarily, I smiled at him, reaching up to pet him with one hand before I caught myself and stopped.

"Oh, Hero…" I chided with some amusement. "I'm trying to be serious here, you know."

He squeaked as if in response; I'd like to imagine he really was replying, but knew that wasn't it. Hearing voices coming from the traveling group, I paid more attention in hopes of hearing when the next group might come.

"I hear that the Crimson Demon stakes out this part of the road…a lot of the recent attacks have happened around here," a mercenary said nervously.

'_Crimson Demon? Ha, it's the pot calling the kettle black! Taking away people's freedom and selling them off for some measly coins!'_ I almost snarled, quickly taking my hand off Hero in case I forgot myself and exerted too much force. It really wouldn't do to crush my only remaining friend to a pulp. '_Even worse, they don't even take care of their so-called 'merchandise'! Wounded? Feed them to the animals! Sick? It costs too much to take care of them! They're the demons here._'

I nearly flinched as a memory passed through my mind.

_It was cold._

_So cold._

_I could feel the freezing rain soaking my ragged tunic, cold mud pressing against my cheek as I lay facedown on the ground, too weak to get up._

_My fingers twitched weakly as I tried to move, hot tears streaming down my face._

_I didn't want to die here._

_Someone help me._

_Someone save me._

**_Please_**_._

_"Oh, my! Are you alright over there?" A hand pressed against my forehead, brushing my matted, filthy hair back. "You're burning up, poor child."_

People who abandoned others to die when they could save them, tossing them to the side of the road like trash, deserved to suffer.

"Hey…Agatha, are you listening? This is for you," I said under my breath as I ran my hands over the strings of the lyre, starting on the echoing melody that haunted each of my dreams and nightmares. "_Lullabye_."

_"Na, Jugo-chan…"_

_I looked over at the woman, who was smiling silently up at the stars above._

_"…Yes?"_

_"Don't you think this world is beautiful?"_

_"I don't know. Is it?"_

_"Look at the stars; come, sit next to me!"_

_I moved a little closer, staring up at the sky. I didn't really see what was so special about them. They were just little pinpricks of light._

_"Sometimes, I imagine that when a person dies, they become a star."_

_I glanced at her in startled bewilderment._

_"And then when I look up and see so many stars, I imagine they're all watching over us. One day, I'll be up there too, watching you."_

_I frowned at her, and yanked her hand over to me with both my smaller ones possessively._

_"No, you won't. I'll protect you."_

_She smiled at me gently, looking inexplicably happy. There were stars shining brightly in her eyes, and moonlight shimmering in the silver threads in her fair hair._

_"You're a sweet boy, aren't you Jugo-chan?"_

_I could feel myself reddening, my cheeks burning with embarrassment as I quickly released her hand. She laughed softly._

_"Look up there, don't those stars look like they're making the shape of a lyre?"_

_I glanced at the lyre in her lap, back to where she was pointing, and nodded._

_"Legend says that the djinn Beleth has a lyre that plays the most wondrous songs. It can cure illness, and bring hope to the hearts of men."_

_"That sounds too good to be true." I said skeptically._

_She laughed again, but then started coughing, covering her mouth with on hand._

_"A-are you-"_

_"Don't worry, it's just a little cough."_

It hadn't been a little cough.

It had been a terrible illness.

_I heard wracking coughs coming from the bedroom, and I rushed to get her a cup of warm water._

_"Are you alright?"_

_She stared up at me, warm brown eyes as caring as ever, and then smiled weakly._

_"Don't worry about me, Jugo-chan. I'll be fine. Now, come on," she coughed again. "I want to see you put my lessons to use. Play me a song, will you? I taught you 'Beleth's Lullabye', didn't I?"_

_Obediently, I lulled her to sleep with one of the first songs she had taught me._

She had gotten worse and worse, until she could barely get out of bed.

_"Agatha?"_

_"Yes, Jugo-chan?"_

_"You once said…Beleth has a wondrous song, that can cure illness. I heard people talking about the dungeon called Beleth just a little north of here. I'm going to go conquer that dungeon, and then I'll come back and cure you!"_

_She smiled tiredly, looking like she wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. "Ah, sweet as ever, aren't you? Can I stop you?"_

_"No, I'm going to get there and come back with a wondrous song that can cure you, and then we'll live just like we did before." I stated stubbornly._

_"Well then…take my lyre with you," she gestured at the gleaming instrument sitting in the corner. "For good luck."_

I had conquered Beleth.

But when I came back, nothing had gone right.

_"No…why?! Why isn't it working?!" I wept furiously, playing the song over and over again, until my fingers were stinging and bleeding._

_"Jugo-chan…I don't think… Beleth can cure illnesses," she smiled sadly._

_"Y-y-you said," I finally stopped, the lyre with bloody strings falling to the floor, putting my hands to my face as I cried. "You **s-said**."_

_"Don't… cry, Jugo-chan. I can… still watch over…you, right? Every…time you see a star…I'll be watching you," she sighed. "That lyre…It really does… have a wondrous song now…"_

_She reached out with a shaking hand to brush the tears from my cheeks._

_"Now…Play this old musician…to sleep, would you?...My dear child…"_

Agatha died with a peaceful smile still on her face.

Below me, the slave caravan slowed as I drained the magoi from the guards and the mercenaries, leaving the leader unscathed. They fell off their horses one by one, looking so tired they couldn't stay awake.

There was a sardonic smile on my face as I watched the short man look around frantically, screaming angrily at his guards and hitting the nearest mercenary.

I would get rid of _that_ one myself.

As the final guard fell to the ground, bleeding a little from the eyes, I stopped playing and leapt down to land with a crash in front of the cart where the leader was sitting.

"Y-you! D-do you know what I can do to you?" the man threatened frantically. I stared down at him, unimpressed, and then raised my hand. "W-w-wait! I can pay you! I can give you-"

"Know the suffering you have given to others," I interrupted him coldly, bringing my hand down and across, sending him flying clean off the cart and into a nearby tree. He didn't get up again. I went to his fallen body – still alive, must have been a little more sturdy than I thought – and took two rings of keys from his pockets.

Stepping over a fallen guard, I went to the cage that carried the slaves and bent the bars open and tossed the keys in, doing the same for the other a moment later.

When they looked like they were going to stop and thank me, I shook me head.

"Go. More people may come. Hurry and run," I told them shortly.

Realizing that this was the truth and they were still in danger, they fled the area, leaving me standing amongst the carts and the fallen men.

Sighing, I was about to leave too, when a voice called, "Stop right there!"

My head jerked around and I instinctively fell into a crouch, poised to run. From my shoulder, Hero squeaked frantically.

There were twin crashes from either side of me, blocking my paths to escape. The dust cleared to reveal a large, scarred man and a slender woman, both of whom had red hair and crimson eyes like mine. Behind me approached the man who had first called, who also had the same hair and eye color. They all had expressions of shock on their faces, but the scarred giant was the one who said what they were all thinking about.

"A…kid?"

**FireLark's Note:**

**I'd just like to ask the readers, what do you think of Jugo's backstory? His djinn?**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I would like to start by saying thank you to FireLark she is my co-writer who has a few stories out, they're really good reads, I recommend "Chokers" it is by far my favorite, check it out as soon as you can.**

**I also would like to challenge all you writers out there to make more Fanalis stories, existing characters or OCs anything goes yaoi, yuri anything! Just make more Fanalis stories okay and PM me if you're going to take my challenge!**

**Disclaimer: Magi does not belong to me.**

**Mu-Pov**

Myron, Roh-roh and I sprinted together with the rest of the Fanalis Corps towards the site where the Crimson Demon was rumored to attack, keeping to the well-traveled, wider roads to take advantage of our inhuman speed. We generally had to slow down in forests, or risk leveling swathes of trees as we ran by, which Lady Scheherazade would not be pleased about.

"Remember," I called loudly. "If you hear any music, get out of there as fast as you can. None of the victims have actually died yet, but we have far less magoi than the average human, so we have to be careful."

"Yeah, yeah, we heard you the first time Danchou," Roh-roh grinned fiercely from behind me, an eager look in his eyes. "I hope this guy will be a good fight! He'd better live up to his name, I haven't even managed to warm up properly in such a long time!"

"Roh-roh, you brute, is fighting all you think about?" Myron groused, running alongside him. "You'll shame my brother if that's all you talk about!"

"Aaah? You have a problem with me?"

I sighed as they began to bicker again, with the other members of the corps showing various degrees of amusement at my despairing expression.

"Give it up Danchou, they'll never stop," Razol snickered. Yaqut nodded an affirmative from behind her, and seeing my expression fall even further, hastily tried to explain.

"They don't dislike each other…" We all winced as Myron punched Roh-roh into a nearby tree with a resounding crash. I stared at Yaqut, trying to communicate '_Really?_' with just my eyes. "It's just their way of showing affection…"

"If that's their way of showing affection, I wish they would find a way to do it that caused a little less property damage," I complained under my breath. A little more loudly, I commanded, "We're almost there, get ready, Myron, Roh-roh!"

Breaking up, they moved to either side of me in our usual battle formation, although they didn't stop arguing. It was somehow worse like this, because I was stuck in between them, and couldn't escape.

I was almost thankful when the scouts returned, saying a group of traveling slave traders had been attacked not too far down the road. It meant that those two would be splitting up, since we wanted to fence the 'Crimson Demon' in.

…However…

To say that the Crimson Demon's actual appearance was shocking was an understatement.

"A…kid?" Roh-roh said disbelievingly.

I could understand his feelings. The so-called Crimson Demon was…tiny. Tiny and adorable. It was almost comical how small he was, barely reaching my waist and still baring his teeth at us in an attempt at fierceness. To be fair to the rumormongers, he _was_ truly a Fanalis; the evidence was all there, from the crater in the ground where he had evidently landed, to the obvious physical features that made him one of us.

I looked him over a little more closely, wondering if he bore a resemblance to any of the Fanalis in my squad; he was likely a pureblood, judging by his extreme physical resilience. If I had jumped off a cliff like he seemed to have when I was around his size, I would probably have broken both my legs and bruised myself to boot.

He didn't seem to look like anyone I knew, aside from the standard hair and eye color that was normal for us.

'_Clothes, then? They can say a lot about a person…_'

He was clothed in a hooded vest in a deep green color, made of good quality linen despite the fact that it was worn almost to rags. There were signs of repeated mending by two people; one with neat, tiny stitches and another with messy, gaping stitches that told me the person should stay away from the needle. The tidier stitches were older than the messy ones by far, and looked like they hadn't been applied for a while, so whoever had been taking care of him probably wasn't anymore.

Aside from that, he also wore a pair of trousers that were so stained with dirt and dust they looked more brown than the gray that had probably been their original color. There was a silken sash wrapped around his waist (and likely holding his entire outfit together) and a band of golden metal around each of his wrists and legs, obviously looted from a caravan or taken from the dungeon. (And was that a mouse on his shoulder…? Wait, it moved, but there was definitely something there.)

More importantly, he was clutching a lyre nearly as big as his entire upper body to himself in a protective gesture. _That_ was it; that was the metal vessel, Beleth.

I narrowed my eyes at it and stepped forward for a closer look, but it must have startled the kid at a bad moment, because he bolted for the forest at a surprising speed.

Roh-roh dove to try and catch him, but the boy managed to slip away from his at the last moment, leaving him snatching at nothing but air.

"Shit! He's fast!" The big man cursed angrily, barely keeping himself from falling face first into the ground.

"Oi! Brat, get back here!" Myron shouted, already running after him.

"Wha–" I started to go after them, but paused to give a hasty order to Razol. "Could you tell the others to take care of this? We should be back soon."

"R-Right!"

I sped through the forest, following the obvious trails left by Roh-roh and Myron as they crashed through the undergrowth, noting the far subtler marks left by the 'Crimson Demon' as I ran. There was an occasional small footprint, a snapped twig here and there, but those were few and far between. Even his scent was somewhat fainter than those of my household, blending better with the forest.

It took a surprisingly long time for me to catch up to them, despite the fact that I was merely running in the paths they had already cleared. As the trail got fresher, I heard a sudden shout of shock and pain, immediately speeding up only to find that Myron and Roh-roh were being pelted with objects by a tribe of angry monkeys.

The sight was so ridiculous I had to stop and stare for a moment, trying not to laugh.

"D-Danchou!" Roh-roh greeted, swatting at the barrage of… was that rotten fruit? I was pretty sure there were at least some in there, judging by the way it was splattered all over the other man's arms. "And _you_! Stop hiding behind me!"

"No way!" Myron yelled back, ducking another fruit.

I sighed. They weren't taking this seriously enough. It _was_ a little kid, but that didn't mean they could slack off…

I saw a flash of red in the treetops some distance away, having already gained a large lead on us just from the monkeys.

"Come on, you two! He's escaping!"

To be continued.

**AN:so tell mw what you think and pleas leave a review **


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I would like to start by saying thank you to FireLark she is my co-writer who has a few stories out, they're really good reads, I recommend "Chokers" it is by far my favorite, check it out as soon as you can.**

**and sorry for the long what me and lark got lost on the road of life.**

**Disclaimer: Magi does not belong to me.**

**Jugo POV**  
>As I darted between the woman and the giant man, heading for the forest, I slung Agatha's lyre over my shoulder in a hurried motion, freeing my hands in preparation for the chase. I would probably be doing a lot of climbing.<br>They were fast. Fast as I was.  
>They kept up easily as I sprinted for the trees, their long legs giving them an advantage over my shorter stride.<br>And they were strong. Stronger than I was.  
>I entered the forest, immediately taking to the higher path of branches<br>The large man charged ahead of the more slender woman, crashing through the undergrowth and the lower tree branches.  
>But they didn't know the wood like the back of their hand. They didn't know the wood at all. They followed after me like hounds after the scent of blood, but they never strayed from my trail.<br>I glanced back at them once more and then changed direction, moving towards a part of the wood where I knew there was a troop of particularly territorial monkeys.  
>If I moved quietly and didn't disturb them, they wouldn't attack me. But for the two persistent Fanalis- and I was sure they were Fanalis now- behind me, they would undoubtedly crash straight through the territory. They would be just as loud and unsubtle that they were being now, and they would bring the unpleasant wrath of the monkey tribe down on their own heads.<br>I could feel myself smirking at the thought of them being pelted with rotten fruits- those dogs of the government who had let Agatha die, who let slave traders run free. I couldn't quite bring myself to stop, childish or not. They deserved it anyways.  
>Once I reached 'monkey territory' I hastened my pace, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire that would inevitably ensue. It wouldn't be the best of ideas to stick around, no matter how much I wanted to see them being pelted with smelly fruits.<br>I made my way ahead, building up a good deal of distance between us as I hopped from branch to branch. It wasn't as easy as it looked; it required a great deal of balance and even more practice. As I ran, I heard the wet sound of rotten fruit splattering messily against skin and loud cursing coming from behind me.  
>A moment later, the first man – the one who had told me to stop right there – called out a command that I couldn't quite make out, and I heard them gaining on me once again. I opened my mouth to spit out a curse, and then shut it again. Agatha didn't approve of cursing – hadn't approved of cursing.<br>But that guy was smart, smarter than his subordinates and even more determined. Well…I would see how long that determination lasted. They were staying firmly on the ground, so the traps I had made to hunt for food should be able to catch them. It wouldn't do much, they would be able to break free without too much effort, but hopefully enough of them should be discouraging enough to force them into giving it up.  
>The nearest one…ah, it was a pitfall trap. Perfect. He abruptly switched directions, giving up a little of his lead – but it would be worth it.<p>

**Mu POV**  
>He frowned as the boy made a wide turn, heading in a different direction. What was he doing? Did he think that they had given up already? No, that didn't make sense – but making a turn at an almost ninety degree angle would force the boy to give up a good portion of his lead.<br>No matter, he would take the opportunity since it was being handed to him on a silver platter.  
>"Myron, Roh-roh!" he called to the two behind him, who were glaring sullenly at each other. "Let's close the distance. Break off and take a diagonal."<br>"Nii-sama, do you really have that low an estimation of my intelligence?" Myron sighed, looking despondent and downtrodden. I was pretty sure it was deliberate.  
>"No, of course not! I was just making sure," 'That you two would notice something other than each other.' I finished secretly. We ended up barely ten feet behind the 'crimson demon', hot on his tail and steadily gaining. But…there was something wrong. I skidded to a stop just in time, bracing myself so that Myron didn't bowl me over when she collided with me.<br>"Watch out!" I yelled to Roh-roh, only to groan as he fell into the pitfall trap that had previously been covered in leaves and grass.  
>"A little late there, Danchou!" he shouted back. I peered down to find him with his arms and legs braced against the walls of the pit, keeping himself from falling into a forest of haphazardly placed wooden stakes. It wouldn't kill him – he was sturdier than that – but it would certainly hurt if he fell onto those sharpened spears.<br>"Ahaha…sorry," I told him with a sheepish smile, not that he could really see it, leaning down to grab at the back of his armor so that I could heave him out of the pit. As soon as he was safely back on solid ground Myron burst out in tears of laughter – she'd been restraining giggles ever since he had called back to us.  
>Roh-roh growled at her in half-hearted anger as we started to run again. She couldn't stop laughing, even as she ran. "J-jeez Roh-roh, that w-was absolutely shameful, not only to my brother, but to the rest of our kinsmen as well, hehe."<br>"S-shut up," he spluttered, looking embarrassed and annoyed at the same time. "Let's just get this brat!"  
>"Shut up? Why would I shut up when you- whoa!" I turned around in alarm as Myron abruptly flew into the air, upside-down, one of her feet caught in a carefully made rope trap. She shrieked angrily, one hand keeping her skirt from falling whilst she struggled to reach the rope around her ankle with the other.<br>Roh-roh let out a bark of laughter. "Ha! Shameful, was it?"  
>Myron abandoned her attempts at getting at the rope in favor of trying to claw his face off with her free hand and very sharp nails. Sighing, I pulled Barbatos from his sheath and cut the rope, sending her tumbling to the ground, where she landed catlike on all fours.<br>The kid had an even bigger lead on us now. Not bad. With a little training, a little time, he – ah, now wasn't the time. After I caught him I could plan all I wanted.  
>"Poor kid," Roh-roh muttered. I blinked.<br>I had no idea what kind of expression I had on my face at the moment, but apparently it wasn't pleasant from Roh-roh and Myron's rather pitying faces. Was I really that bad at hiding it?  
>I narrowly avoided setting off another trap, leaping over what appeared to be a tripwire just in time. Myron and Roh-roh followed my example, having learnt from their previous mistakes, and managed to evade the trap without any problem.<br>It was easy once you knew about it – I took that thought back as we had to take a great leap over a series of three linked traps, Roh-roh barely avoiding the last one because of his larger bulk. This was definitely slowing us down, nullifying our previous speed advantage.  
>I saw the boy glance back at us just before he led us straight into yet another trap infested area, disappearing from view in moments. I let out a soft grunt of irritation – this was becoming beyond annoying.<p> 


End file.
